A Switch
by Abunai Himitsu
Summary: Wind the clocks back… remove the Naruto that we all know and love from where he stands with the up coming meeting of the five Hokages. We’re going to take a little trip. We’re going to see the difference. Eventual KakaNaru. Tiny side of SasuNaru. HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

Wind the clocks back… remove the Naruto that we all know and love from where he stands with the up coming meeting of the five Hokages. Before the fight with Pein. Before Jiraiya's death. Before Sasuke killed Itachi. Before Naruto left to train with Jiraiya and before Sasuke left for Orochimaru. Before the Chuunin exam and before the teams were announced at the Academy. We're going to take a little trip. We're going to see the difference. This will be a new ride. This will be a new vision. We will see what happened if Naruto was never on Team Seven. What if he was on a different team? How would that effect Naruto's life and the life of those around him? Join the characters as their lives are thrown into a whole new direction.

"Team Seven; Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Akamichi Chouji. Team Eight; Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba." Iruka prattled off another team from his clipboard, but it was hardly audible over the complaints of teams seven and eight. "Team Ten; Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Naruto."

Iruka stared at the listing for Team Ten, that wasn't what he'd seen yesterday. Had the teams been switched by the Hokage? The Chuunin looked up at Team Seven and Team Ten. He would have to talk with the Hokage after this. Just to be sure that this was the Hokage and not someone else's decision.

* * *

"You wanted to meet with us, Hokage-sama?" Two Jounin ambled into the Hokage's office and stood before the aging man.

"Hatake Kakashi… Sarutobi Asuma… you're both receiving Genin teams today, right?" Sandaime asked, lighting his favorite pipe.

"Yes." Asuma nodded, pulling a cigarette from the little box that held them.

"Mm." Kakashi gave a languid nod.

"Kakashi… you'll be teaching the team wi-"

"Uzumaki Naruto, right?" Kakashi said and if you listened closely enough, you could have heard the sliver of excitement.

"No." The old man sighed, he knew that Kakashi wouldn't be pleased with his final decision to switch Naruto off the team.

"No?" Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose curiously.

"You'll be teaching Uchiha Sasuke." The Hokage blew out a stream of smoke. "Asuma will be taking on the role of Naruto-kun's teacher."

"Me? I thought for sure you would put him under Kakashi's tutelage." Asuma said in surprise.

"Originally, yes, but I believe Naruto will learn better from being on a team with you and Nara Shikamaru." Sandaime stood from his old, creaky chair and turned to look out the window. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, I know how much you wanted to have Naruto-kun on your team."

"No, you're probably right that Asuma and Shikamaru would be better for his growth." Kakashi said, hiding the disappointment in his voice to his best abilities.

He was rather depressed at the Hokage's final decision to switch Naruto and Chouji at the last minute. Kakashi wanted to have both Sasuke and Naruto on his team. The two had the potential to be power houses if trained right. Add Sakura to the equation, Kakashi believed that she would be the perfect medium between the two stubborn personalities. Now, however, he wouldn't have the rivalry that he was hoping to be able to spark between Sasuke and Naruto. Chouji wouldn't want to start anything unnecessarily. Sighing, Kakashi prepared himself with the idea of a completely different team than he was anticipating. He had truly wanted the hyperactive, orange wearing, blonde ninja on his team. He hadn't even contemplated the idea of anyone else being on his team.

Asuma, on the other hand, was rather intrigued by the concept. He was hoping to use Naruto as a catalyst to get Shikamaru to be a little more active. He also believed that Naruto could be a rather crucial member of his team. The boy looked like he had the potential, however deeply hidden it was. Asuma lit the cigarette that he'd almost forgotten he'd placed between his lips. So, now he had a lazy bum, a vain female, and a hyperactive ninja on his hands. This was going to prove to be quite entertaining. Asuma placed a sympathetic hand on the forlorn looking Kakashi's shoulder and gave a smirk. Kakashi nearly bristled at the smug look. Asuma was a comrade that he'd confided in and vice versa.

"Sorry, Kakashi." Asuma said. "Looks like I lucked out this time."

"It appears so, Asuma." Kakashi frowned.

"Kakashi, Asuma, don't let this switch change your relationship." The Hokage felt the anger the silver haired Jounin was emanating towards Asuma.

"No worries." Asuma said, smiling confidently at the old man.

"It won't change, Hokage-sama." Kakashi was still frowning, but answered respectfully.

"Sometimes, that mask makes it very hard to know if you're really upset, Kakashi-kun." The Sandaime muttered to himself as the two Jounin walked out of the office and shut the door. "Maybe I should have kept Naruto-kun on his team… nah. I think I made the right decision."

* * *

"Team Ten?" Asuma popped his head into the room.

Naruto looked over at Shikamaru and woke him up before running down to meet the dark haired Jounin. Ino was next to arrive in front of Asuma, followed by a half asleep Shikamaru. He grinned at them and motioned for the three Genins to follow him out of the classroom. They arrived in a nice hall were one side was open to the outdoors. Asuma stood against the wall and had the three Genins sit on the bench on the other side of the hall. Naruto looked positively ecstatic. Ino was at least looking up at him respectfully. Shikamaru had finally started to wake up and was scratching the back of his head a little.

"So, my name's Sarutobi Asuma, I'm going to be your teacher." Asuma said with a big smile. "Why don't you guys go ahead and introduce yourselves?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Seven sat in silence and waited for the arrival of their teacher. Kakashi was not happy and wanted to make sure he was calm enough before going off to meet his new team. The Jounin was almost sure that there were some other forces of nature that were working against him. It had looked so certain that Naruto would have been on his team. There were many reasons that Kakashi wanted the young blonde on his team. Not all of them coincided with the team itself. Others were because he wanted to be close to his late teacher's legacy. It was very rare that he had been able to see the blonde. The last time he'd been near Naruto was when the blonde was four.

Kakashi could still remember the adorable look of curiosity that the boy gave him. The look held no fear. Just pure curiosity and joy at his prescence. Kakashi had still been in the ANBU at the time. So, he thought the mask would have frightened the young boy, but it didn't. Instead, it seemed to draw the blonde hair, blue eyed to him. Kakashi was even more shocked when young Naruto grinned at him and took hold of his hand. The blonde pulled Kakashi towards his room and drew a picture. It didn't take the boy long and he wasn't a very talented artist at that age. Naruto handed Kakashi the drawing and gave a little childish giggle. When Kakashi looked at it, he assumed that it was of himself and Naruto. He'd quit the ANBU shortly after that meeting.

Kakashi looked up when he realized he'd arrived in front of the door that led into the classroom that held his team. He grinned; it was always annoying when his body went into automatic mode like that. He always enjoyed the scenery. Kakashi slid the door open and was greeted by three young Genin. Sasuke sitting off to the side with a cloud of seriousness floating overhead. Chouji sat nearby with a bag of chips and munched away as Sakura stood in the front of the classroom. They're attention was upon him instantly and he stepped into the room. Kakashi looked between the three one more time before placing a hand on his chin contemplatively.

"Hmm… my first impression of you three is…" Kakashi grinned. "I hate you."

* * *

XD Yes! A new story… this one looks to be a pain… a real big pain, but I promise I'll do my best. Enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

_Italics_- Are for flashbacks.

* * *

Naruto held the formidable cat at arms length and whined audibly. That cat had scratched him a few too many times for his taste. He was also upset because he was hoping for better missions after becoming a Genin. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Even though Asuma had put them through quite the interesting test in order to pass. Naruto grumbled as he recalled the events that had occurred only a few weeks before. He especially recalled the strange ninja that was wearing a mask and had silver hair. He watched over the whole test from a distance. Asuma had seen him, but just grinned and ignored the silver haired ninja's presence.

_Team Ten met at six in the morning. Naruto and Shikamaru were half asleep as they walked towards the center of the training grounds. Ino was the only one that seemed to be fully awake. She was smiling rather cheerfully and stopped in front of the two boys that promptly toppled over. Despite herself, Ino laughed at them. She'd never really liked either of them, but at least they would provide her with entertainment. Shikamaru was asleep instantly and Naruto began to nod off as well. Ino sat down near them to wait as well. It didn't take long. Asuma came trotting up to the three Genin only a few minutes later._

_"I'm glad to see you all here on time." Asuma said with a bright grin._

_"Good Morning, Asuma-sensei!" Ino responded immediately._

_"Good Morning, Asuma-sensei." Naruto grumbled, trying to wake up._

_When Shikamaru didn't wake up, Ino and Naruto both landed a smack on the boy to wake him. The black haired boy groaned and pulled himself into a sitting position. He looked at Ino and Naruto as if they were nuisances. Then, he noticed Asuma and slumped forward a little. Now he knew why the two had hit him. He supposed that made sense._

_"Morning, Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru grumbled._

_"Well, now that we're all awake. Let's start the survival test, hm?" Asuma said with a chuckle._

_The three Genin pushed themselves onto their feet and placed their belongings off to the side. Each of them laying their belonging against the base of a nearby tree. They then turned back and padded over to their teacher. Asuma looked over the three Genin studiously and nodded to himself. He pulled out two bells. This was a little trick that Kakashi and his father had told him that they used. It seemed to work wonders. So, why not try it himself, Asuma thought. He held the bells up to show his team and cocked his head a little to the side with a wry grin now forming._

_"The test is to get one of these bells." Asuma stated. _

_"But there's only two." Shikamaru mumbled._

_"Exactly, you see one of you won't get a bell. The one that doesn't get a bell is going to be tied up while we eat lunch in front of them." Asuma smirked at the horrified looks on the three Genins faces._

_"That's why you told us not to eat breakfast!?" Naruto shouted at the Jounin._

_"Yep." Asuma attached the bells to the waistline of his pants. He walked over to where the three had placed their things and set out an alarm. "You'll have until noon to get the bells."_

_In the corner of Asuma's line of vision he spied another Jounin. He spared him little attention. If Kakashi wanted to see what would happen, Asuma wouldn't be able to stop him. The silver haired Jounin was rather tricky like that. He stood and looked back at Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru. It was a surprise, but Naruto had apparently spotted Kakashi as well. The Jounin couldn't help but feel a little shocked that the hyperactive blonde was perceptive enough to spot the well hidden Kakashi. Yet, he was even more shocked when he realized that Naruto didn't even mention the on-looker. Asuma observed this behavior and saw something akin to recognition in the blonde's eyes. Just before it disappeared and was replaced with determination as he turned his face toward Asuma._

Naruto mumbled to himself before feeling Ino's hand slap against the back of his head to quiet him. They stopped in front of the tables that held Chuunin and the Hokage himself. The blonde boy handed over the cat to a rather stout woman. She cooed and thanked Naruto before going over to a Chuunin to pay her due. Iruka smiled and looked at the scroll filled with other missions. He skimmed through a few D-rank missions before selecting the next one for Asuma and his team. He handed his suggestion over to the Hokage to decide on. Sandaime nodded his head in approval and looked up at the team, removing his pipe.

"JI-CHAN!" The Sandaime stopped and raised an eyebrow at the sudden outburst from Naruto. "I want a better mission! All of these have been too easy! I won't grow without getting better ones!"

"Naruto!" Asuma scolded, but the boy paid no heed.

"Naruto!" The Saindaime called out as well. "These D-rank missions are perfect for you and your team. You've only just graduated a few weeks ago. This is the level you are at."

"Then how do you expect me to get stronger!?" Naruto shouted. "If you give me tougher missions, I'd grow!"

Asuma had enough and walloped the shouting blonde on the head. Shikamaru and Ino were thinking something along the same lines as Naruto, but they were smart enough not to say anything. Naruto toppled over onto the floor. He cried out before sitting up and holding his head. Sandaime couldn't stifle his chuckle. He was fairly certain that his son, Asuma, was thinking that he would be scolded later. Naruto folded his arms and muttered that he wasn't the same that child he once was. Sandaime knew that to be true. The Naruto that had always depended on pranks to display his feelings was changing.

"Naruto! The Hokage is choosing D-rank missions for you until you're prepared for-"

"Alright, I'll give you a C-rank mission." Sandaime cut off Iruka with his bemused statement.

"R-really?" Naruto perked up.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka stared at the old man.

"Here… I think this one will be perfect." The Hokage grinned, pulling out a pen to mark off the one he'd chosen. "It's a simple escort mission to Wave Country."

"Escort mission to Wave Country?!" Naruto leapt to his feet. "Who are we escorting!? A princess? A feudal lord? Who? Who?!"

"I'm about to introduce him, Naruto." Sandaime looked over to a door. "Come in please, Tazuna-san."

Team Ten looked over at the doorway as it opened. Asuma watched as a rather tipsy looking older man slipped through the door. He had a bottle of alcohol in his hand and a condescending look on his face. Naruto pouted a little that it was an old man that he was supposed to escort. He folded his arms and glared at the old man. However, Tazuna didn't exactly look pleased either. This wasn't who he was hoping to be his escort. Three kids and one guy? That was what he was going to receive? Tazuna was not pleased.

"Are you sure about this, Hokage-sama?" Tazuna asked. "Three kids and one ninja? Actually, is that short one with the stupid face even a ninja?"

"Hahaha! Who's the short one with a stupid face?" Naruto laughed until he realized that he was the shortest in the group. "JERK! I'll kill you!"  
"Naruto, don't kill our charge!" Asuma said while grabbing a hold of the blonde's jacket.

Kakashi walked behind his team as they walked toward the mission room. He was reading his book as they went and was quite content. That is, until he heard shouting come from the room they were heading for. The Jounin's ears twitched at the sound of Naruto's voice and he looked up from the book. What was going on? He found himself incredibly curious as to what made the blonde so upset. However, Kakashi had to resist the urge of speeding off to see what the commotion was all about. Sasuke, Sakura and Chouji seemed to have heard the blonde boy's voice and weren't too bothered over it. They kept their same pace.

Inwardly, Kakashi sighed, he wanted to see what was going on. Once they came to the door that led to the mission room, it opened. Team Seven stopped and watched as a sour looking Naruto stomped out with Ino and Shikamaru following him. Naruto spared a quick glance up at Kakashi. There was a slight hint of recognition, but it seemed to only be added up to a few weeks ago. Kakashi felt a tinge of unhappiness that the blonde turned and walked away. He was hardly given a second glance, but he supposed that was to be expected. Team Seven went into the room and Asuma stepped out with a grin directed toward Kakashi.

"He's a definite handful, Naruto is." Asuma stated congenially.

"I'm sure he is." Kakashi agreed, putting his book away.

"He spotted you, y'know." Asuma pulled out a new cigarette from its box and lit it. "During the Genin survival test."

"I know." Kakashi nodded.

"You never did tell me why you quite the ANBU so suddenly, Kakashi." Asuma said with a grin. "But now… I think I'm starting to form an idea."

"It's probably wrong." Kakashi said and walked past Asuma into the mission's room.

"I doubt it." Asuma chuckled and wandered off.

He was going to have to go on a mission here relatively soon. He didn't want to keep his team waiting for too long. That was Kakashi's thing. Asuma rather enjoyed being on time. It was less taxing on him in the long run. His students wouldn't yell at him. However, they did seem rather annoyed at his smoking. Ino and Naruto complained about it all the time. Shikamaru would, but he just didn't have the spirit to shout at his teacher over it. He was desperately hoping that Naruto's energy would magically transfer into the lazy genius. Yet, it seemed that Shikamaru was doing most of the sharing. Naruto had been picking up on so much from both Ino and Shikamaru.

He was almost worried of overloading the blonde boy, but he seemed to absorb it like a sponge. Not in quite the same manner as Shikamaru who had learned Shogi in a matter of ten minutes, but it was still remarkable. Shikamaru had found that the perfect way of teaching Naruto something was to teach it to him hands on. Asuma was surprised how quickly Naruto was picking up on Taijutsu when he started teaching it to test Shikamaru's theory. Asuma realized that his team could certainly become one of the most powerful ones around. He could feel pride and hope swelling within his chest. To be the teacher of the Genin that wanted to grow up to be Hokage. Along with the two that could end up being his councilors. What a fine thought that was to Asuma.

Despite the set back that he was having with Kakashi, this was moving quite well. He'd just have to have Naruto and Kakashi hang around one another when he could get the chance. Asuma chuckled to himself. Probably not, Kakashi would attempt to turn Naruto against him. He didn't want to go back to the Naruto that pulled pranks on him the first few days the team was together. No, he quite liked the non-pranking Naruto much better. Especially, since he'd only recently gotten the purple out of his hair and the permanent marker faces off his fingers. That had not been an easy thing to admit to his father… that his own Genin student had invaded his home and pranked him. Making a pit stop at his home, Asuma grabbed a few provisions.

He arrived at the gates of Konoha and saw his team standing and ready to set off. He also spotted Team Seven with another person as well. Asuma raised an eyebrow briefly at them. Did Kakashi's team get a C-rank mission as well? The Jounin smirked, probably. Knowing the Hokage as Asuma did, he probably wanted to test out Kakashi's team as well. A tap beside him told him that Kakashi was now walking next to him. Asuma spared a glance at his comrade, who was looking ahead at the teams. The Jounin walked next to one another quietly for another moment before Kakashi tilted his head to look at Asuma.

"So, it was Naruto's fault that Hokage-sama's issuing C-rank missions to Genins already?" Kakashi asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

"I would suppose it is, Kakashi." Asuma admitted.

"Hm." Kakashi nodded and stepped toward his team. "Alright, everyone. Ready to head off to Grass Country?"

"Team Ten ready to head out to Wave Country?" Asuma grinned at them.

There was a chorus of "yes" that emitted from the teams as they set off. For a slight distance, the two teams would be walked together until turning different ways. Kakashi and Asuma walked behind their two teams. The charges chattered listlessly in front of the Jounin and Teams Seven and Ten led the way. Kakashi had his book out and though his eyes were trained on the pages, his attention was with the Genins. He wanted to see the relations between the two. Asuma as well was listening to the camaraderie between his students and Kakashi's. He needed to know if they would get along for future purposes. However, it looked like Teams Seven and Ten were a long way away from getting along.

"Long way to go." Kakashi stated, seeing that Asuma was on the same wavelength as he was.

"Yeah… long way to go." Asuma tossed a cigarette butt off to the side and sighed.

* * *

Yes, chapter 2 is up in the same time because I needed to get it down tonight before I forgot what I wanted to write. I hope you enjoy how it's going so far! Lemme know if you think it's flowing well!


	3. Chapter 3

Ino was known to be a fairly popular girl. Many people always thought that she would be Uchiha Sasuke's first choice in a mate. However, there was always that one other girl that made it difficult for the Yamanaka. Haruno Sakura was the blonde girl's rival. She'd be damned if she let the pinkette win over Sasuke's heart. Sure, Ino had a set back with being on a different team than Sasuke, but she was determined. It also helped that Naruto was constantly encouraging her. Ino thought it was of Naruto to cheer her on, but she knew why. He just didn't want Sakura to date Sasuke. Shikamaru, on the other hand, didn't care either way. The placid boy simply wanted silence. Chouji was a little on Shikamaru's side for that one and after a well placed slap by Sakura, Naruto joined them.

"Ino doesn't hit me that hard…" Naruto grumbled as he moved over to Shikamaru's side.

"So troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled as he watched the red mark on Naruto's cheek fade as fast as it had formed.

That was something that Ino and Shikamaru had begun to ignore. The blonde boy recuperated extremely fast. No matter what his injury, he was always good to go the next day. Asuma always put it up to the fact that Naruto was a fool and fools don't get sick. Or, in Naruto's case, don't stay sick. Shikamaru sighed and glanced at the upcoming fork in the road. His team would be taking the left route, while Team Seven would head down the right. He was grateful that it would quiet down after Uchiha Sasuke was gone. The group stopped before the two roads to say their farewells. Tazuna and the other old man that Team Seven was escorting spoke jovially of meeting up again sometime.

"Well, Kakashi… looks like this is where we part." Asuma said with a grin.

"Looks like it." Kakashi closed his book and looked on dully at the Genin teams.

"Asuma-sensei, we're going this way, right?" Naruto asked pointing down the left pathway.

"Yep, that's the way we're going. Team Ten, say goodbye to Team Seven." Asuma said.

"What? Why?" Ino gasped in horror as she remained clinging to Sasuke's arm.

"We're going down the right path." Kakashi pointed towards the left road.

"Ha." Sakura grinned at Ino.

"Tch." Sasuke strategically removed himself from the grasp of both girls and stood near Chouji.

"Have fun, Kakashi." Asuma gave a wave before trotting down the left path.

Kakashi frowned as Team Ten and Tazuna followed the brunette Jounin. He had the strangest feeling that Asuma was actually enjoying this. That Asuma was having fun teasing him. Kakashi looked back at his team and gave them an eye smile. They turned and started to head down the other path. The silver haired Jounin cast one last glance over at Team Ten before plunging his face back into his book. He also didn't miss the curious stare that his Uchiha student cast him. Kakashi figured he'd have to be a little more careful again with his dissatisfaction. Asuma would just love it if his students caught on that he'd wanted Uzumaki Naruto on his team. So, Kakashi couldn't possibly give his Jounin comrade that pleasure.

"Asuma-sensei?" The Jounin looked down at Naruto.

"What is it, Naruto?" Asuma lit a new cigarette.

"That other Jounin… Kakashi-sensei… he doesn't like you, does he?" Naruto asked.

"Hm?" Asuma raised an eyebrow.

"I got that same impression, Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru drawled.

"Oh really?" Asuma inhaled on the cigarette, then blew the smoke out and chuckled lightly. "I suppose we have a little wedge growing between us lately, but only because I keep teasing him."

"About what?" Ino asked with a sly grin.

"A mutual acquaintance of ours." Asuma answered back with a sly grin of his own. "I'm just surprised you all caught onto that."

"Naruto said he was radiating distaste the whole walk." Shikamaru nodded at Naruto.

"Was he now? I'd hardly noticed." Asuma laughed.

They group gave Asuma a strained look and turned their attentions back to their hike. As they moved along, something interesting caught Asuma's eye. He looked up at the sky, there wasn't a cloud. The area hadn't gotten any rain in quite some time. So, why would there be a puddle of water nestled so happily on the road? The Jounin maintained a neutral disposition as he and his team went along. If it was something to worry about, he'd have to wait and see. The group was in an easy going rhythm and he didn't feel like starting anything unnecessarily. If that puddle was indeed what he thought it was, then he'd deal with it when the time came. Several steps later, a pair of ninja exited the puddle and leaped toward Asuma first.

Their spiked chain wrapped around Asuma's large build and tightened until the flesh was ripped apart. Ino screeched in horror. Naruto's body locked up and he froze as one of the ninja's claws scratched his hand. Shikamaru was the only one to act, he knelt down on one knew and brought his hands together. The two ninja didn't know what hit them, the just knew that they couldn't move. Shikamaru allowed himself a momentary smirk. They were from another village that was for sure. Ino gave a sigh in relief; she'd unconsciously pulled a Kunai knife from her side pouch. Naruto as well had a knife in his hand as he pulled himself out of the state of shock he'd been in.

"Naruto, I can't hold this too much longer." Shikamaru called out.

"R-right." Naruto nodded and looked at the ninja closest to him. "Who's your target?"

"Stupid kid." The man growled out.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru's shout came just in time.

Naruto was able to jump back from the attack that came swiftly down from the one he'd asked. Shikamaru's shadow binding wasn't nearly strong enough yet. The team knew that, but someday, it would get better. So, for now, Naruto felt grateful that the lazy Genin could use it in the first place. The two ninja jumped into the air and Naruto prepared to move away, but a shadow appeared before him. Both of the enemies were caught rather easily in the arms of a different ninja. Ino was thrilled, she stepped forward in clapped her hands together. Shikamaru sighed in relief and Naruto grinned ecstatic to see that their teacher was alright.

"Sorry, 'bout that Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino." Asuma said. "I just needed to check how you'd handle the pressure."

"Yeah, well next time you decide to do that, leave out the theatrics." Shikamaru grumbled.

"I agree, I think you could have done that without making us watch you be split into sections." Ino scolded, folding her arms angrily.

"Right, right. Sorry." Asuma grinned and tied the two ninja to a tree. "So, from Mizu, huh? Now, my student asked you who your target is. Mind telling me?"

"Forget it." One of the Mizu ninjas growled.

"Right, then I'll assume that it's Tazuna-san." Asuma said with a frown. "If you were after me… you certainly wouldn't have been Chuunin."

Asuma stood straight and looked over at the guilty looking man. Tazuna's eyes met his and it was obvious that this wasn't an escort mission anymore. Also, judging from the strange liquid on the claws of the two ninja, they had poison in them. He'd seen Naruto get scratched and more than likely there was poison in the wound. This mission was over.

"Well, Tazuna-san." Asuma sighed. "I have a feeling that there're a few things that you haven't told us. We're going to have to head back to Konoha. This isn't a C-rank mission anymore and Naruto's been hurt. There's poison on their claws."

"True, we'll have to turn back." Ino nodded in agreement.

"No!" Naruto ground out.

"Naruto, you're poisoned, if we don't get it out of you, you could die." Shikamaru grumbled.

Asuma nodded and gave Naruto an apologetic smile. Unfortunately, Naruto would have nothing of it. The blonde took the Kunai he was holding and jammed it into the scratch. Asuma's eyes widened at the action. He was trying to bleed out the poison? Ino gasped and stepped forward.

"Naruto! What are you doing!?" Ino shouted.

"He's trying to bleed out the poison." Shikamaru said.

"And…" Naruto looked at all of them. "And it's a promise… I won't need protection anymore. From now on, I'll protect all of you."

"Hahaha… well, I suppose we can at least escort Tazuna-san to Wave Country." Asuma ambled over to Naruto and crouched down, holding out a hand. "Here, we better wrap that up now. I think you got enough out."

"Oh, okay." Naruto placed his hand in Asuma's.

Asuma took out his bandages and looked at the wound that Naruto had given himself. It wasn't terribly deep. What intrigued Asuma was to see that the cut was already healing shut. The Jounin eyed it momentarily before he felt Naruto's hand twitch in his own. He looked up to see worried blue eyes staring at him. He grinned and wrapped Naruto's hand. Asuma figured that it was probably the Kyuubi's doing again. Giving Naruto unnatural healing abilities. After all, Naruto lived off of ramen and practically nothing else. If Kyuubi wasn't active within Naruto, the boy would be dead from malnutrition. That, or Naruto would be larger than Chouji. Asuma stood and glanced back at the two Chuunin. Someone was after Tazuna and now that the Chuunin had failed.

More than likely, the next ninja sent after the old man would be Jounin level. The team began to walk again. Asuma was not looking forward to what this meant. He was hoping to continue the string of easy missions for a while. He didn't really want to have a show down with a Jounin. Especially, a Jounin from Mizu. He was never very fond of them. They were rougher than Asuma wanted to deal with and usually they wouldn't five up until dead. That made them even more annoying. He was hoping that Kakashi was having better luck than he was. Kakashi felt a sneeze coming, but managed to stifle it. His team was walking quite nicely in front of their charge. He was able to just meander along behind them without a fuss.

It was rare that he got to leave Konoha on a mission so easy and Kakashi found himself enjoying it. The team was chatting with their charge, an old man from Grass Country who specialized in weaponry. He was travelling home before going back out into the world and he didn't want any unsavory characters following him. Being a weapon specialist made the man a target for ninjas that want a powerful tool built by him. It had already happened twice and the poor guy couldn't put his family through that again. So, Kakashi sympathized. However, he couldn't help but wonder just how Team Ten was doing. He supposed that it would be a little more entertaining with Naruto's hyper tendencies.

"Everyone in the boat." Asuma said quietly.

"Why are we sneaking around now?" Ino asked.

"I believe Tazuna-san can explain that for us." Asuma took a seat next to his team and looked towards the old man. "You need to tell us what's going on. If you don't, the mission ends as soon as we reach the shores of Wave Country."

"Alright, alright." Tazuna sighed. "I apologize for having lied, but our country doesn't have enough money to have paid for the more expensive B-rank. You see, Wave Country is cut off from the outside world because we're an island. Not even our Feudal Lord has much money. So, I'm building a bridge to the main land. If I can complete it, then our village could grow and become more prosperous."

"Who's trying to stop you then?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"There's a man who owns a shipping company, Gato." Tazuna sighed. "He runs the shipping company on the surface, but he uses underground methods as well. Using rogue ninja to do his dirty work and keep competition low. If I finish the bridge, he'll lose a lot of money."

"I see. Gato, huh?" Asuma frowned deeply. "I've heard of him."

"Yes… and I understand if you don't want to help me after we get to shore." Tazuna said apathetically. "I'll probably get killed before I get home and my cute grandson will cry and cry. My daughter will grow angry and curse the name of Konoha for the rest of her life, but I understand."

Asuma felt the guilt that Tazuna was using on them work. Shikamaru, Ino and Naruto all looked depressed at the idea. Asuma shrugged and gave Tazuna a strained smile.

"Well, I guess we have no choice. We'll stick around until the completion of the bridge." Asuma said.

"Oh! Thank you very much!" Tazuna smiled gratefully, inwardly congratulating himself on the win.

"Hey, hey, could I help building the bridge?" Naruto asked.

"Hm? How would you help?" Tazuna eyed the young blonde.

"He can make a lot of clones of himself." Ino interjected.

"Yeah, he'd probably be perfect for assisting you numbers wise." Asuma nodded.

"Oh? Well, I suppose that would be pretty great!" Tazuna nodded happily.

"Alright!" Naruto whooped and was promptly pulled back in with hands over his mouth to silence him.

"Naruto, shh!" Ino chided.

"Nothing but trouble." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Sorry." Naruto laughed nervously.

The boat reached a harbor and floated to a stop next to a wooden walkway. The Genin were the first to step off. Naruto and Ino glanced around curiously. Shikamaru yawned widely, too bored and tired to really care about the scenery. Tazuna stepped onto the walkway next and looked around fondly. He was home. Asuma thanked the man that rowed them there and stepped onto the walkway. The man nodded to them and turned on the engine to his boat, leaving them behind. The group turned and walked towards land. Asuma was surprised that they had made it so far without another attack. However, he had a strange nagging sensation that they wouldn't get to Tazuna's home so easily. Shikamaru even looked a little more alert than normal.

They walked along quietly. Naruto and Ino had noticed that Shikamaru was more awake and both looked to Asuma. Their silent question was answered and Asuma smirked. He was surprised to see Naruto catching on as quickly as he was. He supposed that having Naruto learning from Shikamaru and Ino was a good idea after all. The blonde was more capable now than he'd ever been, while still managing to be Naruto. Suddenly, Naruto jerked a Kunai knife out and tossed it into some bushes. Ino and Shikamaru were at his side, prepared. Asuma raised an eyebrow at it because it was rather cute. A white rabbit leaped from the bush in fright and Ino and Shikamaru groaned.

"Naruto, it was just a rabbit!" Ino scolded.

"Oh no! I'm sorry Mr. Rabbit!" Naruto ran forward and held the defenseless creature in his arms.

"Getting us all worked up for nothing." Shikamaru grumbled a little.

"Hey, I swear someone was watching us!" Naruto retorted.

Asuma looked at the rabbit. He'd seen one like that before, but it wasn't white this time of year. He remembered Kakashi explaining to Gai that type of rabbit is only white during the winter. If you spot one that's white any other time of the year that means it's been kept in a dark place. That meant, this rabbit was a tame one kept by a person. A twig broke from behind and Asuma knew. This was where his luck would run out. No matter how much he didn't want to fight a Jounin. No matter how much he wanted a nice and easy mission. He'd have to deal with what he was dealt. A sound of something heavy and metallic flying through the air reached the Jounin's ears and he turned to his team.

"EVERYONE DOWN NOW!" Asuma shouted.

* * *

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah… this really is going to be a pain to write! Really… seriously… holy schnikies… *dies* The length of the chapters will vary based on what's going on.

Okay… couple things;

1. The romance between Kakashi and Naruto won't really "spark" until Naruto comes back from training with Jiraiya (yes, I'm spoiling my own story… so there)

**2. I've put a little something in my profile. It's near the bottom of the profile section before it shows my stories. Please, please read that if you are new to my stories. I'm getting a lot of the same messages/reviews on things.**

3. There's no bashing in my stories that's any more excessive than in the show because I actually like all of the characters… well except Danzo.


	4. Chapter 4

Asuma dropped onto the ground, his body made a quiet thump. He was grateful seeing Ino and Shikamaru pull Tazuna to the ground. Naruto himself almost fell comically, acting as though he'd slipped and landed flat on his back. A large sword flew over them and slammed into a tree. Team Ten began to bring themselves up from the ground; Ino, Shikamaru and Naruto gathered around Tazuna. They were looking around the opening wildly. Looking for the person that had thrown such a large sword as their heads whipped around. The brunette Jounin moved to his feet and walked over to stand near the three Genin. He'd have to toss his pride for his students aside for a short while until the fight was over.

He looked up at the sword were a ninja now stood with his back turned to them. The man glared back at Asuma. He was from Mizu. Asuma nearly groaned. He knew that this was going to happen. He hated being right. Recognition flickered through the Mizunin's eyes and through the Konohanin's eyes. Asuma knew this ninja. He name was Momochi Zabuza. He was a Nukenin, a missing ninja. If there was anything that Asuma hated dealing with more than a Mizunin, it was a Nukenin from Mizu. He settled his hands in his pockets and looked up at Zabuza with a rather lackluster stare. The most amazing thing about Asuma, he still had his cigarette safely held in his lips. He parted his lips to blow some of the smoke out.

"Well, hi there!" Asuma said with a lopsided grin. "Might you be Momochi Zabuza the Nukenin?"

"Oooh?" The man that stood upon the large head cleaver tilted his head to look back at them better. "So, you have heard of me?"

"A little, yeah." Asuma admitted. "You defected from Mizu."

"I certainly did." Zabuza turned to face the group.

"I suppose you've been hired to kill Tazuna-san." Asuma jerked his head in the old man's direction.

"Asuma-sensei!" Naruto suddenly broke rank and ran forward to Asuma's side. "We can take him!"

"No, Naruto." Asuma said with a very dark tone. "This one's on a whole different level than those two Chuunin."

"But-"

"Naruto." Asuma looked back at the blonde with a stern glare. "I know that I've been teaching you all about teamwork. So, the teamwork we'll be using this time is you three protect Tazuna. I'll take him on."

Naruto hesitated. He wanted to help his teacher, he wanted to fight. However, he couldn't go against what he was ordered to do. The blond jogged back over to stand in formation with Ino and Shikamaru. Zabuza stared at the group of Genin before returning his stare over to the Jounin in front of them. He recognized the man. The small fabric that hung at the Konoha Jounin's waist gave him away. Sarutobi Asuma. Zabuza smirked, he found himself grateful that he hadn't run into Konoha's Sharingan Kakashi. That was really lucky. He'd heard that both Asuma and Kakashi were strong, but if Zabuza had a choice, he'd rather take on Asuma. He jumped onto the tree and grabbed his sword before leaping off to stand on the nearby lake. Once he placed the large chunk of metal on his back he took a stance. It was time to give himself some cover.

"Everyone be on guard." Asuma said.

"Mist?" Ino looked around as the opening filled with a thick mist.

"He's giving himself cover." Shikamaru droned.

"He won't sneak up on us!" Naruto declared.

"Are you so sure?"

The three Genin froze when the voice of the enemy came from in between them and Tazuna. The man wasn't going to waste his time, he wanted to take care of Tazuna and kill Asuma. The Genin didn't interest him. Zabuza raised the head cleaver and swung it around in Tazuna's direction. Asuma managed to jump forward; he had his chakra knives in hand as he stopped the blade from reaching its target. Tazuna stepped back and sighed gratefully at being saved. Zabuza snarled at the other Jounin. Asuma shoved the sword back and swiped the knife on his right hand out at the Nukenin. However, instead of blood, water poured out from the body. Asuma frowned when he realized he'd just killed a water clone.

"BEHIND YOU ASUMA-SENSEI!" Naruto shouted, his finger pointing behind Naruto.

Asuma felt the blade hit the side of his body. Zabuza grinned maniacally as the blade cut straight through the body, but the grin disappeared. A blade nestled against his neck and chakra extended from it menacingly. The body that Zabuza had cut into turned into a log. Asuma looked forlornly at the log as he remembered what his team had said about theatrics. He was looking at getting a rather interesting lecture from the three after this. Especially, judging from the horrified screams they had let out. Honestly, did they doubt him so much? Asuma nearly sighed before his attention turned back to Zabuza fully.

"It's over." Asuma said.

"I think not." Zabuza swung the sword.

Asuma was forced to dodge the massive blade that came at him. The cleaver landed deep in the dirt with a thump. Asuma prepared to attack once more. However, Zabuza had other ideas. He switched hands on the hilt of his weapon and landed a well placed kick in Asuma's stomach. The Konohanin lurched forward and felt his body move from the force. It was a strong kick. A very strong kick and it sent Asuma flying back and into the lake. Before he landed in the lake, he threw small makibishi nails onto the ground in front of the water. At least that would momentarily stall the Mizunin. Zabuza charged at the lake. He stopped once spotting the makibishi nails. He frowned deeply and turned his back to the lake.

"Makibishi… how juvenile." Zabuza launched his body into the air and flipped into the water of the lake.

Shikamaru watched this and his eyes widened. He didn't like where this was going. The enemy was a Nukenin from Mizu. The enemy was a ninja from Water Country and their teacher had just escaped into water! Shikamaru frowned and unconsciously took a step forward. This was not good. Asuma resurfaced and raised an eyebrow. The water felt weird… it felt heavy. The realization of danger of the situation when Zabuza appeared behind him ominously. He performed several hand seals before holding his hand above Asuma's head.

"Get out of the water, Asuma-sensei!" Shikamaru shouted.

"Escaping to the water was a bad idea, Asuma-san." Zabuza stated darkly. "Suiro no Jutsu."

"Shit!" Asuma felt his body be encase within a globe of water.

Asuma's Genin students stood shocked. Ino felt panic rising within her. Their teacher had been caught. Secretly, she saw Asuma as some amazing and undefeatable opponent. She never would have thought that her teacher would have been captured. Shikamaru and Naruto felt frozen. The lazy genius' attempt to warn Asuma hadn't worked. What would they do now? He looked at the two blondes near him. Ino was going to be of no use as she was now. Naruto might be able to help him. Their goal would be to free Asuma. They just needed to free Asuma! Unfortunately, Shikamaru wasn't given time to plan anything. Zabuza created another water clone that gave them a bone chilling stare.

"You three, take Tazuna and run!" Asuma shouted.

"Run?" Naruto didn't see the sense in that. "But-"

"The option of running away disappeared when you got captured, Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru said.

"Annoying children… you don't hold the right to be called ninja." In an instant, Zabuza was holding Shikamaru by the neck.

"Shikamaru!" Ino managed out a strangled cry.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto held his hands up to perform a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Clones appeared and charged the Jounin. Zabuza allowed a momentary surprise at the fact that a Genin could perform such a technique. However, it passed quickly. He tossed the body of the brunette Genin had held at one of the clones. He used the cleaver to destroy several other clones and watched them disappear with soft poofs. Naruto groaned from under Shikamaru. He hadn't expected to be the one that caught his teammate. He was hoping another clone would have caught Shikamaru. The two maneuvered themselves to their feet and stared at the Jounin. Shikamaru was able to catch his breath easily enough since he wasn't choked for long. He glanced over at Naruto.

"We need to free Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru whispered.

"How?!" Naruto half whispered, half growled in frustration.

"We're going to use your clones." Shikamaru said. "Now listen."

Asuma watched as Naruto and Shikamaru stood off to the side. Their attention being split between each other and watching Zabuza. Shikamaru was talking to Naruto. The captured Jounin silently prayed that meant Shikamaru was planning with his blonde comrade. A moment later, Naruto nodded and grinned. That was a good sign… or a bad sign, but Asuma believed it was good. Naruto put his hands together again and created a large number of clones. That impressed Asuma, he hadn't seen Naruto make so many all at once. The clones all pulled Kunai from their pouches and charged forward. It was like watching a line of soldiers run forward. They all piled on top of Zabuza.

Only to be thrown off a moment later. Naruto landed with an array of his clones toppling around him. During the chaos, the blonde pulled shuriken out from his pouch and tossed them at Zabuza. The enemy Jounin harrumphed and caught the shuriken with ease. Several clones that had not attacked stood next to Shikamaru in another line. They all drew shuriken and launched them at Zabuza. The water clone of the Mizunin grinned and prepared to knock the weapons down, but they all disappeared before reaching him. This confused the man. Then he heard metal flying through the air and looked back. In the cloud of smoke from all the fake shuriken, a large Fuma Shuriken soared toward the real Zabuza.

"Child's play." Zabuza caught the Fuma.

As he held the large weapon in his hand, it transformed into Naruto. Zabuza jerked at the change and looked down at the smirking blonde. He pulled out a Kunai from his leg pouch and rammed it into Zabuza's right arm that held Asuma in the water prison. Zabuza growled in fury and threw the blonde ninja back onto the land. His water clone stepped forward to swing his blade down, but a Kunai that flew from Asuma's position dispelled the clone. Zabuza's head whipped around to look at the furious Konohanin. Asuma was freed from the prison. Zabuza was about to leap away from Asuma when he felt a strange pang in his side.

"I'm done playing." Asuma growled.

Zabuza looked down at his side; blood was trickling out of a wound. Asuma's chakra knife had cut him deep. The Nukenin pulled himself from the range of Konoha's Jounin. Asuma straightened himself up and placed his hands up as guards. That was relatively impressive, Asuma thought. It was a simple plan, one that Naruto would easily get. Asuma smirked. This was definitely the appropriate team for Naruto to be placed on. Eventually, he believed Naruto could become as smart as his father had been. He spared a quick glance at his Genin students. Team Ten. They could grow to be the most formidable team in Konoha. Asuma's eyes went back to Zabuza. The Nukenin was standing; his blood dripping into the water. The wound was too deep for Zabuza to risk continuing to fight.

Asuma rushed forward and observed the labored motion Zabuza used to bring the cleaver up. Asuma used the momentum of his body to toss Zabuza off balance and forced the injured ninja back onto land. Zabuza used a clumsy push to back the other Jounin off of him. He stepped back as well, his back near a tree. Asuma lengthened the chakra blade on his right knife. He gave the ninja from Mizu one last appraising look. This would be a ninja to cross out in the Bingo book. Asuma raised his arm to strike. Zabuza let out a pained breath and simply stared coldly at the ninja from Konoha. He felt rather annoyed that he was going to be killed by a ninja from Fire Country.

"Sweet dreams." Asuma thrust his arm forward, but he stopped dead. "Huh?!"

Three Senbon needles were suddenly in Zabuza's neck. There was a sickening sound that emitted from the surprised Nukenin as he toppled to the side. Asuma stared down at the body in shock. A presence made itself known in a tree branch above. The ninja from Konoha looked up at the small frame of a ninja wearing a strange white mask with Mizu's symbol on it. It was from Mizu's ANBU team, Asuma frowned deeply. The ninja jumped down from the branch and bowed politely to Asuma. The brunette Jounin bowed his head in return. Naruto ran up to them. His right arm extended accusingly at the newcomer.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Naruto cried out.

"I'm from the assassination squad in Mizu." The person stated almost mechanically.

"Assassination squad?" Naruto blinked.

"You know, the ANBU." Shikamaru drawled.

"Oh… I guess with the mask and all." Naruto lowered his hand. "That doesn't explain why you killed him!"  
"I've been tracking Momochi Zabuza for months." The young ANBU said.

"I see." Asuma nodded.

"I'll take care of things from here." The assassin went over to the body of Zabuza and grabbed a hold. "Thank you for keeping him busy."

"Right." Asuma raised an eyebrow as the two Mizu ninjas disappeared. "Hmph."

"Dammit!" Naruto yelled. "That's not fair!"

"It's alright Naruto, not everything in life's fair." Asuma said, putting his hand on top of the blonde's head and ruffling the locks. "Well, I guess we'd better get to your home, Tazuna-san."

"I suppose we better." Tazuna nodded.

Team Ten turned and followed. Naruto was sulking heavily and Asuma figured that it was primarily due to how Zabuza died. Shikamaru just shook his head at his comrade and Ino sighed in annoyance. As the Jounin followed the group, he couldn't help a nagging sensation in the back of his mind. Something was amiss. However, he didn't want to make any mention of it. His priority was to get to Tazuna's house before dark. Naruto was already upset enough. Shikamaru was tired of being awake. Ino just wanted to lay into Asuma for the log stunt he pulled earlier. Besides, he was probably over thinking it all anyways. Yet, a part of Asuma didn't think that Zabuza was dead.

* * *

Oh Goooooooooooooood. –flops- This was a terrible chapter to write! This one actually required research on names of weapons and jutsus!

I had to sit and decide what I wanted to keep for the Zabuza fight with Asuma and what I didn't want to keep. What I wanted to change… how I wanted to change it. I took out a couple of unnecessary explanations… I'm assuming you all know Naruto, I'm not going to explain who Zabuza is or what Naruto and Shikamaru's plan was. I bet you all got it, because you're all fantastic.

I am loving how you all like this! Keep enjoying it, I'll keep writing it!


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto plopped down in a chair. It was a wooden chair and wasn't very comfortable, but he welcomed it. The blonde leaned forward and onto the kitchen table exhaustedly. The poor kid was ready to just relax for the night. Ino sat across from him and let out a soft sigh. Shikamaru had thumped down next to Naruto and mimicked the blonde by leaning onto the table. Tazuna introduced his daughter Tsunami and his grandson Inari. Asuma greeted the two and introduced the Genin as politely as he could. Even though they had made themselves at home the moment they walked in. Tsunami was a very polite woman and was a very good cook.

Naruto was thrilled to be eating, even if there wasn't much food to be shared. He felt like he'd eaten four times more food than there really was. The team sat with Tazuna and his family. They chatted amiably for a short while. However, there was an unhappiness that sat with them. Young Inari glared at the ninja from Konoha. He didn't like them, they all seemed too happy and at ease. They didn't act like ninja. The group disbanded when it got late. Shikamaru and Naruto were nodding off at the table. So, Asuma stood and directed the two male Genin to a room they would share. Ino would share a room with Tsunami. Tazuna had his room and Inari also had his.

Kakashi sighed deeply. He was standing on the porch of the weapons master's home. It was a nice night. There was a calming breeze blowing and it reached him where he stood. He stood in front of the door that led to his room. Each of his teammates had their own room. He found himself rather lucky that he wouldn't have to sleep in a room with Sasuke and Chouji. The two had rather odd sleeping habits. Kakashi allowed a small grin beneath his mask. He never showed it, but he knew their strange habits were due to their curiosity. The three Genin were always trying to see what was under his mask. The Jounin always found it rather amusing. They would come up with some plan and he would foil it.

The silver haired man gave a lazy chuckle; that was the best part of being a Jounin teacher. He liked tormenting young ninja. He knew that wouldn't always be the case and eventually the team would grow more powerful. Then… one of their plans might actually succeed. Kakashi felt a slight pang of worry fly through him. Maybe he shouldn't train them quite so well. Kakashi shifted from his spot and padded back into his room. There wasn't much point in staying awake now. Sasuke had just exited his room to take his watch. The Jounin gave one last glance at the bleary eyed Uchiha before closing his door. The boy was so depressing. Kakashi frowned, had Naruto remained on his team, there would have been someone around to lighten the mood.

He removed his Jounin vest and his forehead protector. He stretched and felt relief when a few of his joints popped. Standing the way he did for three hours straight made his body feel creaky. Kakashi went to the bed in his room and climbed in. As he settled himself down into the covers, he sighed once again. Honestly, why would the Hokage want to move Naruto off of his team? It seemed to be a really good idea that the student of the blonde's father teach him, right? Kakashi folded his arms beneath his head. His mind wasn't allowing him to sleep. It was too preoccupied with thoughts of how Asuma's team was doing. Did they finish their mission already? Were they staying the night in Wave Country like his team was?

Kakashi's mind reeled with questions. All of them would have to wait to be answered. He glared at the ceiling with his black eye. He knew he wouldn't find any answers there, but it made him feel better to burn a hole into something. For what seemed like forever, Kakashi lay there. Until a small knock rapped on his door. Kakashi wanted to groan in agitation, but still got up from the bed. He slipped his forehead protector on to cover his eye. The Jounin went to his door and slid it open, revealing Uchiha Sasuke. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the boy. He looked a little embarrassed over something. Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck and averted his eyes a little. Kakashi grinned, this could be fun.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" Kakashi said with a smile apparent in his voice.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I was having such a wonderful dream abou-"

"I don't want to know!" Sasuke's face turned red. Sasuke knew his teacher was a pervert. The books he read was proof enough. "Um… anyways, I want to talk to you, Kakashi-sensei."

"About what?" Kakashi stepped out of the room and leaned against the railing of the porch.

"Um…" Sasuke's face reddened more. "About Naruto."

"What about him?" Kakashi perked up a little.

"Well, he was… my first kiss." Sasuke said softly.

"Eh?" Kakashi wasn't expecting that. When had that happened?

"It wasn't like we planned it or wanted to!" Sasuke added quickly. "Some idiot knocked into Naruto and he fell forward!"

"I see." Kakashi nodded.

"But, even though Naruto didn't like it… I…" Sasuke looked down. "I did."

"Huh?" Kakashi felt so eloquent.

"I know I have to rebuild the Uchiha clan, but I just don't find girls all that interesting." Sasuke muttered unhappily.

"I understand." Kakashi nodded, finally getting over his surprise. "It's not uncommon for things like this to happen. You're young, as you get older you'll either continue to dislike girls, or you'll start to like them."

"But Kakashi-sensei… that's not it. I think I like Naruto." Sasuke said.

"Naruto?" Kakashi frowned to himself. "Why?"

"….." Sasuke muttered so lowly that Kakashi could barely hear him.

"His lips were soft?" Kakashi almost chuckled.

"Don't repeat it, sensei!" Sasuke said loudly.

"Sorry, sorry." Kakashi gave the Uchiha an eye smile. "Well, whatever happens; happens."

"What does that mean?"

"It has many meanings. You'll have to find out for yourself." Kakashi shrugged. "Well, I'm going back to bed. Hopefully, I'll continue that dream wi-"

"Goodnight, Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke walked away quickly and purposefully.

Kakashi chuckled and wandered back into his room. When he shut the door and lay back down in the bed, he sighed once more. There was something he didn't like about Sasuke liking Naruto. He frowned and turned onto his side. The two were too young for a relationship anyways. They were only twelve! Kakashi closed his normal eye and took a deep breath. More than likely, this was a phase and Sasuke would grow out of it. The feelings were probably only sparked from the kiss. The Jounin frowned even more. There was only one good thing about all of this. Kakashi felt his lips twitch into a small smirk. If Naruto's father had been alive… he would not have been happy with Sasuke. More than likely, the Yondaime would have put Kakashi in charge of keeping them apart. No wonder the blonde boy was on another team. With that final thought, Kakashi drifted into a shallow sleep.

Shikamaru awoke to the sounds of people moving around the room. He rolled over to look up at Naruto as the blonde fixed his headband on. The black haired boy grumbled and sat up. Naruto glanced at him and gave him a bright smile that Shikamaru swore wasn't normal. It was so big, so pure and so open. Then again, Naruto wasn't your average ninja. Naruto straightened his orange jacket out as he stood near his comrade. Asuma walked into the room and smiled to see that both his students were awake. Ino already sat in the kitchen, eating breakfast. So, Asuma had gone in to check on the two slumbering boys.

"Hurry up and come eat breakfast. We're training today." Asuma said.

"Alright!" Naruto rushed out of the room.

"I swear, he's not human." Shikamaru sighed.

"Ah yes… morning people are a whole different breed." Asuma chuckled. "Hurry up, Shikamaru."

"Okay." Shikamaru nodded.

Asuma stepped out of the room and went back into the kitchen. Naruto was wolfing down his food. That was one thing he liked about the blonde. He was always ready for training. Naruto was certainly a small bundle of energy. Asuma chuckled a little and sat at the table. Shortly after, Shikamaru stumbled out of the room and made it to the kitchen as well. He sat down and Tsunami placed a plate before him. Shikamaru yawned widely and eyed the food before picking up chopsticks. Ino sighed and shook her head at Naruto. She honestly didn't know how he managed to eat like that and not choke.

"One of these days, you'll choke to death, Naruto." Ino said.

"Eh?" Naruto glanced over at the fellow blonde. "Nah… I think I'll be fine!"

"Don't ask me for help when you do choke." Ino looked at Shikamaru. "Hurry up and eat! We're going to be training today."

"Tch… so troublesome." Shikamaru looked down at the food.

Shikamaru ate the food as slowly as he could, without obviously doing this to upset his teammates. It was his prerogative. He didn't have to eat fast, if he didn't want to. However, Asuma eventually caught on and picked the plate up from the black haired boy. He handed it to Tsunami and grinned at his team. Shikamaru grimaced as he was pulled from his chair and dragged out of the home. Asuma led the three Genin to a small opening about two hundred feet away from the house. Once there the Jounin looked around approvingly and looked over to the three young ninja. They all seemed to be focusing on him completely. Asuma grinned at the fact that they seemed excited about the training… in their own ways.

"Alright, we're going to train how to climb trees." Asuma said.

"Uh… Asuma-sensei." Naruto pouted. "We already know how to climb trees."

"With chakra?" Asuma raised an eyebrow. The three Genin blinked and shook their heads. "You all know what chakra is, correct?"

The three Genin nodded.

"Good. So, watch me first." Asuma turned away and put his hands together.

A moment later dirt swirled up daintily around his feet. The Jounin stepped toward a tree and began to walk horizontally. The three Genin were astonished. They'd never seen anything like this before. Their teacher just casually ambled up the tree as if it were still the ground. How did he do that? Asuma walked until he was standing on the underside of a branch and looked down at the Genin. They gaped at him unabashedly. He smirked then leaped off of the branch, righted himself and tapped onto the ground. Ino seemed impressed with how cool her teacher was. She was thrilled to have Sarutobi Asuma versus Hatake Kakashi. She thought the silver haired Jounin was creepy. Naruto and Shikamaru were grinning in a lazy amazement.

"Now, you've seen me do it." Asuma pulled out three kunai and held the handles out to the Genin. "You're going to gather chakra at the bottom of your feet and attempt to walk up the tree as well. Use these kunai to mark how high you get each time. To start off, you'll need to take a running start."

"Alright!" Naruto swiped a kunai from Asuma's hand and went to a tree.

"Okay, Asuma-sensei!" Ino took a knife from Asuma and chose a tree next to Naruto.

"Tch… so troublesome." Shikamaru slid the last knife from Asuma's hand and wandered over to a tree next to Ino.

The three put their hands together and closed their eyes in concentration. When dirt swirled around their feet, the three ran towards their respective trees. Asuma watched as they ran up the trunks. Ino was the first to tumbled down and land on her feet. Shikamaru slipped having eased up on the amount of chakra he'd been using and landed. Naruto managed to get the highest. The Jounin's eyes widened in surprise. He certainly wasn't expecting the blonde boy to get the highest. He'd been expecting Ino to have the best chakra control. What an interesting development. Asuma smirked to himself. Perhaps he'd have to start more specialized training for each of the Genin when they got back to Konoha. Strengthen Shikamaru's shadow technique and extend the time he can use it. Focus Ino's chakra control and use of her mind control technique. For Naruto… Asuma had a wild idea. He was going to have to buy some chakra paper when he got back.

* * *

*flops over* Wooooooooooooooooooow. *sigh* Finally… this one was rather odd… yes. I just didn't want to write it, nothing exciting was happening in it. o.o;;;

Anyways, yes… Asuma wants to find out what Naruto's chakra nature is. Yay!


	6. Chapter 6

The team sat at a table, eating dinner happily. Inari stared harshly at the blonde boy that sat across the table from him. Naruto was chattering away with his team, even Shikamaru had gotten in on the conversation. Inari hated it. He was so fed up with this happy-go-lucky blonde boy. He didn't even look like a ninja let alone act like one. Inari frowned unhappily. That blonde fool probably didn't know what it was like to lose someone. He probably had a loving family that was waiting for him to come home. Inari had had enough.

"You… I can't stand you!" Inari stood and ran out of the kitchen.

The group stared blankly in the direction that Inari had run. Naruto raised an eyebrow, the boy had been pointing at him when he yelled. What did Inari have against the blonde? The team looked over at the somber Tazuna and Tsunami. Tazuna sighed and looked up at the group. He figured that he would have to explain a few things to the group. Tazuna set his chopsticks down and leaned over onto the table. He propped his elbows on the table as well. Asuma gave his attention to Tazuna. Eventually, the three Genin also turned to face the man when he started to speak.

"I apologize for Inari." Tazuna started. "You see… once Inari was a happy child and had a dog named Pochi. There were boys that decided to pick on the dog and Inari couldn't save him. The boys tossed Pochi into a lake and Inari couldn't swim back then. Unfortunately, the boys shoved him into the water."

"That's horrible!" Ino said sadly.

"Yes…" Tazuna nodded. "Now, Pochi managed to swim ashore, but Inari couldn't swim back to land. However, a young man saved him, Kaiza. He became a father figure to Inari… and eventually, Tsunami and Kaiza married. The man was a hero to the village. He wasn't afraid to stand up and fight. Unfortunately… Gato decided he was a threat. They tied him up and Inari watched Gato's men disgrace Kaiza and kill him. Inari hasn't been the same ever since."

"How sad." Ino frowned.

Naruto sat there, thinking about the boy. Without warning, the blonde Genin stood and ran out the door. Ino cried after him, but received no response. Tazuna looked at Asuma only to find the Jounin grinning ear to ear. Shikamaru sighed in annoyance and shook his head.

"I'll go after Naruto." Ino said, standing from her seat.

"Don't worry about it, Ino." Asuma stated. "He's just going to go train, that's all."

* * *

Naruto stood at the base of his tree. He was looking at the marks that he'd been making the past few days. He'd worked himself way too hard and was just awoken by a young person. The blonde was telling this young person who had woken him up about his training. The young person listened politely and smiled fondly at Naruto. The blonde had always been rather trusting to people that showed him any inch of kindness. So, when this young person had woken him with a soft smile and concern obvious on her face, Naruto responded. She was collecting herbs for ointments and disinfectants. So, Naruto happily assisted her.

"Do you have someone special that you fight for?" The young woman asked.

"Someone special?" Naruto put a couple greens into the basket she held.

"Yes, a person that holds meaning to you." The woman said. "I believe that if you have someone special to you, it'll make you stronger."

"I see." Naruto crouched down before the woman and pondered this. "I… suppose I have some special people."

"Oh?" The woman smiled fondly. "Then train and get stronger."

"You got it!" Naruto raised his fists into the air proudly.

The young woman shifted her hair behind her ear and stood up. She turned and started to walk away. Naruto watched as the girl walked away. Suddenly, the girl stopped and turned with a very polite, but empty smile.

"By the way, I'm a boy…" Naruto's jaw dropped open as he stared at the boy he'd thought was a girl.

The boy turned away again and continued to walk away. Naruto fell onto his rear and gaped at the retreating back. He was completely shocked, that boy was prettier than any girl he knew! The world was a mysterious place. The boy kept walking, passing by yet another boy that headed toward the shocked Naruto. Shikamaru paused briefly to look at the other boy as he walked away. The lazy ninja had gone out to find Naruto after Ino threatened him with menial labor. She had already climbed the whole tree the day before. Naruto had managed to get the highest for a while, but Ino seemed to have had an epiphany.

Needless to say, Asuma had been openly surprised to see Ino beginning to exceed both Shikamaru and Ino. The lazy Genin yawned and continued to wander back over to the blonde. Naruto looked up at Shikamaru and gave him a bright smile. Shikamaru felt his left eye twitch slightly. He realized why it was so easy for Asuma to send him to handle Naruto. Asuma wasn't exactly a morning person either. Shikamaru looked at the trees and sighed. He and Naruto were going to have to deal with this training again today. How annoying. The blonde got to his feet and stood next to Shikamaru. They gazed at the trees quietly and relaxing.

"Guess we should keep going, huh?" Naruto stated.

"Tch… yeah." Shikamaru pulled out a kunai slowly.

Naruto pulled a kunai out as well and walked over towards his tree. Shikamaru ambled over to his tree and grumbled to himself. He didn't exactly want to do this today, but Asuma made it clear that they had to complete this training. So, the two boys ran at the tree and climbed as high as they could. Shikamaru noted that Naruto had managed to climb higher again. He knew that Asuma was going to get after him about that. Naruto grumbled as he toppled down and landed back on the ground. He was growing tired of this form of training, but ht was getting better. Shikamaru even seemed to be improving somewhat.

For hours, the two trained while Ino and Asuma went into town with Tazuna. Ino saw first hand just how bad the economy was in wave country. She was beginning to feel guilty. Just when Ino thought she couldn't take much more of seeing the poor quality of life in the village, Tazuna said it was time to go home. As they reached the house, Asuma and Ino took a detour to see how Shikamaru and Naruto were doing. When they arrived, they were shocked to see the two boys sitting on the underside of a tree branch. They were laughing and talking without a care in the world.

"What are you two doing!?" Ino shouted.

The two boys stopped talking and glanced down at their other teammates. A smile broke out on both of their faces.

"Just… hanging around." Naruto said.

"Good work, you two seem to have mastered tree climbing." Asuma chuckled.

"Yeah…" Shikamaru stood from his spot and walked down the tree.

Naruto followed him down the side as they walked. It was definite progress. Asuma was grinning proudly at the site. Ino had managed to master it quicker than the two boys, but it looked like they finally caught up. Once on the ground, Team Ten and Asuma walked back to the house. Asuma lagged behind them so they wouldn't comment on how creepily he was smiling at them. He couldn't help it that he was proud. He also couldn't help that he was going to have bragging rights when he returned to Konoha. He was pretty sure none of the other Genin could climb trees with chakra yet. Then a petty frown formed on the Jounin's face; no, Kakashi might have taught his team how to climb trees.

* * *

Kakashi sneezed and shook his head in surprise. He didn't know where exactly that came from. His team was working on a mission to walk some dogs of the villagers, so they weren't nearby. Were they thinking about him? The silver haired man shrugged and went back to reading his book. He was surprised when his team had come back and heard that Asuma and Team Ten were still gone. Eventually, his surprise faded into a state of concern. Why would their mission be taking longer than theirs? It was the same mission… just different countries. Kakashi had half a mind to ask Sandaime to allow him a mission to Wave Country to check on them.

"Sensei." Sakura walked up to him.

"Hm?" Kakashi glanced up from his book.

"We're done." Chouji said, motioning to the dogs.

"Alright. Good work, take the dogs to their rightful owners and I'll go turn in the report." Kakashi said while snapping his book shut and smiling. "See you all tomorrow bright and early… say… six o'clock?"

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke as his students started to complain. It was always fun teasing them like that. He was beginning to wonder if any of them would just not show up for an hour or two. The Jounin stopped by the missions' office and handed a report. He paused and tilted his head. Iruka was taking reports today? How rare. Iruka even looked a tad frazzled himself. So, Kakashi put on a smiled that arched his eye in a pleasant manner.

"Thank you, Hatake-san." Iruka said tiredly.

"It's rare to see you collecting the reports, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi stated.

"Yes… I'm waiting for Team Ten to return." Iruka mumbled. "Their mission shouldn't be taking this long."

"Hm?" Kakashi feigned ignorance so the Chuunin would continue.

"It was just supposed to be a simple escort mission. Why haven't they returned?" Iruka seemed to almost be asking himself.

"If you want… I could go to Wave Country and check on Naruto." Kakashi said.

"Wh-what?" Iruka glanced at Kakashi in surprise.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Kakashi managed to cover his small slip of the tongue easily.

"Well…" The Chuunin sighed. "Yes. I suppose it's obvious."

"A little." Kakashi chuckled.

"They shouldn't be gone too much longer." Iruka said with a smile. "Besides, they have Asuma with them, they'll be alright."

"Indeed." Kakashi nodded and turned, leaving the office.

Hearing Asuma's name turned him rather sour. Kakashi was still rather upset with the fact that Asuma had gotten Naruto on his team. He was also displeased with the fact that Asuma enjoyed rubbing that fact in his face. The silver haired Jounin frowned and wandered down the road. As Kakashi reached his small apartment a thought came to him. His thoughts were becoming rather single tracked lately. A lot of thoughts of Naruto and not much else had been floating around in his mind. The Jounin groaned. This wasn't a good sign for the future. What would he do when the blonde boy started taking on more dangerous missions? He supposed he would have to make friends with Iruka so they could fret over Naruto together. A mental image formed in his mind and Kakashi winced… perhaps not.

* * *

OMG! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I had a big research paper, 10 pages, to write. So, I'm back to being able to write for y'all again! Shorter Chapter because not much is happening.

BTW- If you ship KakaIru, don't take that last line offensively please. It's meant to be a light joke.

I don't ship KakaIru either... sorry. n.n


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto slumbered peacefully, yet snoring loudly, on the wood floor. His limbs were splayed out and a blanket rested, tangled around the blonde boy's left leg. Shikamaru shook his head; he'd been trying to wake up his comrade for the past twenty minutes. The black haired ninja stood and padded out of the room to report to his teacher. He wasn't going to continue trying to wake up the blonde when it was obvious he wouldn't budge. Shikamaru stopped in front of Asuma and Ino, whom had been waiting impatiently for him and Naruto. The ninja folded his arms stubbornly and frowned at his teacher.

"Naruto won't wake up." Shikamaru drawled.

"Well, I suppose he worked himself a little too hard; guess we'll just have to let him rest." Asuma chuckled.

"Working himself so hard that he won't wake up, jeez…" Ino shook her head and turned to leave.

Asuma followed her and Shikamaru ambled along after them. Tazuna was already waiting outside for them; looking at the sky with a smile on his face. The group headed for the bridge. Once they arrived, Asuma felt a familiar weariness creep up in him. Mist began to form and thicken over the bridge. The Jounin frowned, his suspicion's were correct. Zabuza was alive. The young ANBU member had been in cahoots with the missing ninja. Asuma stepped toward his students and Tazuna. This was going to be a little annoying. He was especially upset when he spotted Zabuza and the ANBU walk forward and stare at them.

* * *

Kakashi sat on a tree branch near the gates to Konoha. He had his book out and idly stared at the words on the page, but he wasn't reading. His mind was busy waiting for Team Ten's return. Another day had gone by and Asuma hadn't come back with his team. Iruka was even growing rather impatient. He was visiting with the other two Chuunin at the gate. The silver haired Jounin pouted and set the book down on his lap, looking up at the clouds. He was hoping for the team to show up today. Looking at the sun, Kakashi blinked. He was very late meeting his team. He said six o'clock in the morning and it was around ten in the morning now.

* * *

Naruto couldn't believe that his team had left without him. He detangled himself from the blanket, dressed and bolted out the door. How could they!? It wasn't fair! It wasn't right! It wasn't nice! The blonde Genin leapt from tree branch to tree branch. He had to catch up with his team. Naruto promised Tazuna that he'd help with the bridge today! He hated not living up to his promises. Another branch creaked as he landed on it. Something caught the Genin's eye. Naruto looked at a skewered boar that lay dead on the ground. A tree nearby had slashes in its bark. The ninja frowned and turned back toward Tazuna's house. There was something wrong, something very wrong.

As the house came into view, Naruto could hear a cry emanate from the building. Inari came running out of the house and Naruto bristled as two Samurai came out after him. The Genin jumped down and landed a solid kick on one of the Samurai. He created several clones and they took the other man down. Inari looked up at the orange clad, blonde haired, blue eyed boy. He smiled brightly, yet with a hint of apology, at the Genin. Naruto grinned back and offered a hand to the younger boy. Inari took it and stood up.

"How did you know?" Inari asked.

"When I was on my way to the bridge, I saw a boar that had been killed and there were a lot of cuts on the trees. So, I knew something bad was happening." Naruto grinned. "Listen, I have to get to the bridge. You need to get help."

"You got it!" Inari ran back into his house to grab his mother, Tsunami.

Naruto waited until they exited and ran in the village's direction. The Genin turned and headed back to the bridge. He didn't want to miss all the action. There was no way he would miss any fighting. He had to get stronger; he wanted to become Hokage someday. Naruto also wanted to make sure that he protected his comrades. So, the blonde picked up his pace, moving through the forest as fast as he could. He had to move.

* * *

Shikamaru grimaced. He had the young ANBU trapped with his shadow, but it looked like it wasn't going to last much longer. Ino noticed the signs and moved forward, using her own technique. She switched minds with the ANBU, her own body falling limp behind Shikamaru. The black haired Genin sighed with relief and released his shadow, moving to his feet. Ino immediately reached up and removed the mask from her face. It was difficult to see through it when you weren't used to it. Shikamaru's eyes widened, he recognized the boy. It was the one that Naruto had been talking with the day before! Shikamaru frowned, this was going to bother Naruto, he was certain.

"Hm… interesting technique…" Zabuza growled out.

"Yeah, Konoha's filled with interesting techniques." Asuma allowed a small grin.

"Well… let's take this one down…" Zabuza disappeared.

"Shit." Asuma looked over at the now unmasked ANBU boy. "Ino! Get out!"

"Right!" Ino answered from inside the boy's body, releasing the technique, just as Zabuza arrived at his side.

"Zabuza-san?" Haku looked at the Jounin curiously.

"Hmph…" Zabuza sneered. "Stop playing, Haku. Take them down."

"Very well, Zabuza-san." The boy, Haku, nodded.

"Ino, you get back and watch over Tazuna, I'll fight him." Shikamaru grumbled.

"But Shikamaru!" Ino stood up from the ground.

"Don't worry…" Shikamaru pulled a kunai knife from a pouch and stepped forward.

Haku replaced the mask on his face. He much rather fight the Konoha Genin with the mask on. Shikamaru sighed and stepped forward again. Haku pulled senbon needles from his sleeves. It was almost as if the two truly didn't want to fight one another and the two Jounin caught that. Haku was the one to recover himself first. He lunged toward the Genin only to be stopped by Shikamaru's kunai he held in his hand. The two's weapons clashed, creating loud chinking sounds through the mist. Haku knew that he couldn't win as easily as he thought against this boy after the first three blocks. So, he paused and jumped back from the Genin.

He performed a couple of hand seals as Shikamaru's wary eyes observed. What Haku didn't know was that he was fighting a mental genius. He didn't know that the ninja from Konoha would be able to formulate a strategy against him once another ninja showed up. The air around Shikamaru and Haku grew cold. A strange sound began to resonate through the mist and Shikamaru knew why instantly. The crackling got louder as ice sheets formed around him and Haku. They positioned themselves around the two boys. Off in the distance, Shikamaru could hear Zabuza talking to Asuma. He strained for a moment, trying to catch what was being said about this technique, before Haku spoke.

"You won't escape this." Haku took a few steps back and melded directly into the sheet of ice behind him.

"Why not?" Shikamaru found himself grimacing at the interruption.

"Why don't you try and find out." Was the response he was given.

"Tch… so troublesome." Shikamaru turned and ran in the direction of an opening between two sheets of ice.

Before he knew what happened, Shikamaru was leaping away from several senbon needles that flew through the air. This was incredibly aggravating. The Konoha Genin looked around and froze. There were reflections of Haku in every sheet of ice. So, this is what the fake ANBU had meant. Shikamaru grumbled and glanced around himself. What to do? What to do? He needed someone else there with him. He needed Naruto or Ino on the other side of the ice for his plans to work properly. Naruto would be best because of his abilities to make so many clones. Unfortunately, the bouncy, blonde, boy was back at Tazuna's house sleeping.

"Yo! I came to save you Shikamaru!" A voice rang out to Shikamaru's ears.

"N-Naruto!?" Shikamaru turned and stared at the blonde that was only inches away from him.

"Hi!" Naruto gave him a cheeky smile.

"Y-you idiot!" Shikamaru groaned. "You shouldn't have come in here! Now we can't launch an attack from the outside!"

"Oh… well… we'll think of something?" Naruto's smile turned sheepish.

"You're so troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.

The two Genin stood next to one another and faced the Hakus in all of the mirrors. Shikamaru had to think of something. Now that he had Naruto here, there should be something. Something that they could do. Shikamaru closed his eyes, contemplating what he knew. Naruto watched Haku in the mirrors closely. He needed to keep look out for Shikamaru while the genius was plotting. When Shikamaru opened his eyes he looked at Naruto.

"Your clones." Shikamaru whispered.

"Yeah?" Naruto blinked.

"Make as many as you possibly can." Shikamaru grinned.

"But they won't all fit in… here." Naruto grinned as realization set in. "Got it. You might want to head for the side when I start."

"Right" Shikamaru nodded.

"Taijuu! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he made the seals.

"What?!" Haku was shocked to see Naruto multiply as quickly as he did.

There was no time to spare. Haku started to eliminate as many clones as he possibly could from the mirror he was in. Puffs of smoke filled the area as he destroyed clone after clone. Soon, there was only one Naruto left. He had several senbon barely knick him. Shikamaru, unfortunately, didn't escape. He glared disdainfully at the senbon that sat nestled in his left arm. He turned to look at Naruto and sighed, seeing that he was only scratched up. Naruto looked at him as well and his eyes widened as he spotted the senbon in Shikamaru's arm. He needed to get them out of there so Shikamaru could get that needle removed.

"Try again, Naruto." Shikamaru said.

"Right." Naruto put his hands together and glared at one of the Haku before him. "Taijuu! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Once again, the enclosed area was filled with clones. More and more Narutos began to fill the space. Haku reacted quickly; he dispersed the clones just as he did before. However, this time, Shikamaru noticed something different. Small droplets of what that had been splashed into the air by Naruto's clones were hit in midair. Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows together. That had to mean that there wasn't a Haku in each mirror. It meant that Haku was teleporting himself to each mirror at a high rate of speed. That also meant that the fake ANBU wouldn't be able to maintain this technique for very long. That was a good thing… because Shikamaru felt himself growing rather faint. He looked down at his body.

"Dammit! It didn't work!" Naruto hissed in anger. He glanced down at his body, noting the needles that now pierced through it in several locations.

"No, it didn't… and now you'll lose your friend as a consequence." Haku pointed his finger at Shikamaru.

"What?" Naruto turned to see Shikamaru sway on his feet. "Shikamaru!"

Naruto ran over to his comrade's side just as the black haired boy began to topple over. He managed to catch Shikamaru before he hit the ground. Naruto looked at all of the senbon needles that pierced his friend's body. He was stunned. Shikamaru winced lightly from discomfort. Haku watched the display before him and felt a tinge of jealousy. Naruto and Shikamaru cared for one another as teammates should. While Zabuza saw him as no more than a weapon. Even if that meant keeping Haku at his side, the fake ANBU still couldn't help but feel upset at times. He wanted that from Zabuza.

"If you wouldn't have made all those clones, I wouldn't have had to use so many senbon." Haku wanted to take away what Naruto had. Just so he wouldn't have to see it put on show before him. "And then he wouldn't have been hit by them."

"So, troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "Don't let him beat you, Naruto. You can still win."

"Shikamaru…" Naruto felt tears stream down his cheeks as Shikamaru closed his eyes.

"Is that the first time you've lost someone close to you?" Haku asked curiously.

"I… won't forgive you…" Naruto uttered in a low voice.

Haku was about to respond, but before he could something in Naruto snapped. Something old… something evil. Haku watched as violent streams of red chakra began to flow out from the blonde boy's body. The streams surrounded the two boys, etching deep into the cement of the bridge they fought on. Haku had never seen, nor heard, of anything like this. The chakra was sinister… demonic. It made the blood in Haku's veins go cold. What was this? Naruto crouched down reluctantly, the three whisker marks on his cheeks broadened. The senbon needles thrust themselves out of the boy's body and all of Naruto's wounds healed instantly. These things made Haku confused, but what scared him… was when Naruto's teeth sharpened and he growled like some animal.

Meanwhile, Asuma was having troubles of his own. He and Zabuza had been fighting since Haku had ensnared Shikamaru. At this point, Asuma was beginning to believe that his fight wouldn't be ending for a couple days. He ducked the head cleaver's blade once again and swiped a blade of his own at Zabuza's gut. Suddenly, the sinister chakra reached the senses of the two Jounin. The two men paused. They could feel the chakra swirling ominously through the misty air. Zabuza had no clue who, what or where it could be from. It was certainly not from Haku. Asuma, on the other hand, knew exactly who it was being released from. He glared off into the mist, in the direction that Naruto was. A worry flickered through him; could the seal have broken?

"Zabuza…" Asuma felt a new wind enter him. "…I'm going to have to end this fast."

"Oh?" Zabuza's attention returned to his fight with the other Jounin. "We'll see about that."

Asuma shifted the blades in his hands, his chakra extended from the blades into sharper points. He lifted his hands and hurled the blades in the direction of Zabuza's voice. It was a well kept secret that Asuma had. His hearing was top notch. It was easy to locate Zabuza's position from something as simple as breathing. So, hearing the voice made it as clear as day, just where the Nukenin was standing. He also heard the blades make contact. Asuma watched as the mist began to clear away to reveal that he'd managed to hit Zabuza in both of his upper arms. The Konoha Jounin sighed with relief. All that was really worrisome now was Naruto.

Haku noticed that the mist was beginning to subside. However, he wasn't allowed to dwell on it for long because Naruto was in front of his mirror. Naruto slammed his fist into the sheet of ice with a dark growl. The blonde managed to shatter the sheets of ice with a simple burst of the deadly red chakra and his fist. Haku was sent flying and tumbled along the ground. The ANBU mask cracked. Naruto let out a snarl, one that Asuma heard from where he stood. Naruto charged Haku one more. As Haku pulled himself up, the mask slipped from his face and the human side of Naruto saw what lay beneath. His fist stopped mere centimeters away from Haku's face.

"You're… that boy." Naruto stared with a look akin to that of betrayal.

The ominous red chakra dissipated. Asuma and Zabuza felt relief wash over them, not realizing how afraid they had been. Haku stared down at the blonde with empty eyes. Naruto retracted his arm and stepped back. This confused Haku briefly. Why had the blonde boy stopped his assault? He had killed Naruto's friend. Shouldn't Naruto want revenge? The two stared at one another. Naruto's chakra was low; certainly not enough to defeat Haku. Back were Asuma and Zabuza stood, Asuma extracted a kunai and headed for the Nukenin. Haku looked over towards the two Jounin and his eyes hardened.

"You cannot defeat me without that evil power you had…" Haku mumbled. "If you're upset by what I did… grow stronger to protect your loved ones."

Naruto looked up just in time to see Haku disappear. Asuma reared the kunai back, his chakra swirling and sharpening at the tip. He brought his arm forward, aiming to pierce Zabuza through the heart, but his hand was stopped. It was stopped by another body that gripped his arm tightly with its own hands. Asuma stared down at the fake ANBU boy that held his arm in his chest. The boy was dead… and he died with a small smile on his face. Haku had died instantly. Naruto turned and faced the scene. Seeing that the boy he'd been fighting had died protecting Zabuza left Naruto devastated.

* * *

Good lord… this chapter was just HELL to write. Sorry it's taken so long to get this done. I've fought myself on it several times. –flops- I'm glad this arc is almost over…. Yes.

Anyways… my goal's to give you a small glimpse of what's going on with Kakashi randomly in almost every chapter.

HEY! --- I'm actually thinking of putting this one on hiatus for a little while... just until the muse comes back.


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